ALPHA - The Sky Is Mine

In the turbulent, fertile years of significant musical phenomena, trip-hop stirred the waters of more than one genre. It crossed paths with jazz (from which it also drew), it regenerated itself within post-punk, it gained prestige through its recovery of film music, and in Massive Attack it found the same kind of touchstone that Bob Marley was for reggae.

The Alpha project was born precisely out of Massive Attack's Melankolic label. The perfect synthesis of orchestral arrangements and the various voices ready to give body to the compositions makes their debut, "Come From Home", essential listening for anyone wanting to fully grasp the most refined nuances of trip-hop's cross-pollination.

Alpha's stylistic consistency alienated many of the band's early devotees, who were unimpressed by the relentless pursuit of novelty and by the diminished role of the vocal element, sacrificed in favor of an increasingly orchestral, less commercial sound. "Stargazing", the group's third album, showed a stylistic evolution that went beyond the insights of their debut, but times had changed and the public's attention had already moved elsewhere.

The two volumes of "Lost In A Garden Of Clouds" focus their attention on film music, drawing an invisible thread between John Barry and Burt Bacharach, without forgetting the French school, from Brel to Gainsbourg.

"The Sky Is Mine" tries to bring Alpha back to the attention of an increasingly distracted audience. Praise from the press came swiftly, helped along by the greater accessibility of this recent offering, which features a stable presence on vocals: Wendy Stubbs. The pursuit of an emotional outburst runs through the whole album, though without finding many real outlets. The instrumental textures stretch out to meet melodies that, entrusted mostly to the voice, end up feeling at times slightly soporific.

Still, "The Sky Is Mine" is not a bad record; professionalism and good taste are always present, and some of the compositions reach a fine standard.

The opening “Stargazing” underscores their style with harmony and grace, immediately establishing itself as one of the album's most captivating tracks. There's also a more intense, darker soul to the excellent “Push”, while “For The Wages” brings back the trip-hop side, pairing fuller sounds and an energetic, incisive vocal performance with an enchanting melody and touches of soul in the gorgeous choral arrangement. Wendy Stubbs's voice doesn't excel, and the comparison to Shirley Bassey feels forced and grating. Wendy often sings in an overly velvety manner, and even on the closing “A Little Poison” her vocal development stands out against the wall of sound without making a dent in it.

Among the remaining tracks, only “May”, with its faint bossa nova flavour, and the excellent “Home”, marked by an intense piano structure, have the strength to break the predictable tone of compositions that, while offering pleasant moments (the vibraphone on “Stumbled”), fail to shake the album's hypnotic mood.

In short, a record that will only interest the band's fans, who will no doubt rank it at the top of their favourites, but one that will probably still go unnoticed by the wider public. The limited two-CD edition offers a series of remixes that are far more stimulating than the original project, and point to very interesting directions for Alpha's future development.

P.S. At the end of the last track, a little patience will reveal a brief ghost track…

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20/02/2008